Description of the Project Structure:

This is a pilot initiative program on “Child Sponsorship and Support for Higher Education” proposed by Professional Development and Research Center (PDRC) to Alliance for African Association (AAA). Through this program, PDRC seeks to reach out to those hundreds of potential brains in the remotest areas of the country, specifically from the Dalit community, who tend to shrivel down due to financial crisis, poor socio-economic family backgrounds and lack of opportunities due to caste based discriminations (untouchability). This initiative focus to serve the common mission and purpose to endow the vulnerable Dalit children and youth with the education, skills and knowledge that will lead them  towards self sufficiency and live a dignified life in society.

The “Child Sponsorship and Support for Higher Education” program in Nepal that will be in partnership with Alliance for African Assistance, San Diego, California office, will have an overseas office in the Capital City, Kathmandu. The program will have its projects in some target areas of the Kathmandu Valley as well as the districts covering all the five developments regions of the country.

Within the Kathmandu Valley, the higher education portion will be completely looked after by PDRC through its holistic program. However, the organization will also play the key role and bear all the responsibilities for identifying the needy children and youths networking with individual, local communities, NGOs and the different schools and colleges. PDRC will produce the monthly report on the progress of each sponsorship grantee.

PDRC has also worked out its strategies for reaching the truly needy children and youth in the five developments regions of the country. The organization has a team of its own qualified human resource who will work as District Co-coordinators (DC) for each district under each region. The DCs’ are the locals of the districts that will help the program to run smoothly. In addition, PDRC also has the formal networking with the District Dalit NGOs and plans to network with schools, colleges and the local communities for better identifying the proper candidates for the sponsorship opportunities in the school and higher education.

The one district per region is consciously proposed for the initial assessment of the program and intends to go in a more extensive way in other districts also given the support.